8 | MAY 20 • 2021
PURELY COMMENTARY
continued from page 6
letters
Call for Calm
and Peace
The Michigan Muslim
Community Council
(MMCC) and the Jewish
Community Relations
Council/American Jewish
Committee of Detroit
(JCRC/AJC), who work
together to help Muslims
and Jews of Detroit value
each other’s religions and
communities, call for calm
and peace in the Holy Land.
We are saddened that in
this month of Ramadan,
holy to Muslims worldwide,
violence has broken out in
the holy city of Jerusalem.
We are always saddened
when people are not allowed
to pray and worship and
live their day-to-day lives
in peace. Thus, we pray for
the safety and security of all
who live in the Holy Land —
Muslims, Jews and Christians
and for all the victims of
violence.
We call for dialogue
and mutual respect and
for pursuing nonviolent
channels for justice. We hope
that our model in Detroit,
of working in partnership
on issues of mutual concern,
can inspire those who
are fighting to return to
a meaningful pursuit of
peace and justice for all in
Jerusalem and everywhere.
— Dr. Muhmud Al-Hadidi, Michigan
Muslim Community Council
Rabbi Asher Lopatin, Jewish
Community Relations Council/
American Jewish Committee
a memorandum of
understanding (MOU) with
Start Up Nation Central CEO
Eugene Kandel. The MOU
was designed to expand
the innovation exchanges
between Israel and Michigan
and to allow broader
penetration points into one
another’s ecosystems.
While he was in Israel,
Gov. Snyder’s focus was
on cyber and defense
technologies. He was
the keynote speaker at
the Annual Cybertech
conference. When Gov.
Snyder returned from his
visit to Israel, he worked
to deepen and strengthen
the economic connections
between Israel and Michigan.
The result has been a
successful partnership
between the Michigan
Economic Development
Corporation (MEDC), the
private sector and MIBA
(Michigan Israel Business
Accelerator). The scope and
scale of this Michigan-Israel
relationship targets the
convergence of technology,
industry and research in
such sectors as advance
manufacturing, mobility,
cyber, defense, water,
health and life science and
agriculture.
MICHIGAN STANDOUTS
One of the fruitful outcomes
of the Michigan-Israel
connection occurred in May
2019 when Michigan became
the first state in the United
States to launch a free web
platform. This platform
was poised to be a tipping
point for the state’s startup
ecosystem, the platform —
Startup MichiganTech — is
based on the successful
Israeli platform developed
by Start-Up Nation Central,
an independent nonprofit
that builds bridges to Israeli
innovation and ecosystem.
One other memorable
visit happened in June 2018
when Ambassador Ron
Dermer made a historic trip
to Detroit where he met with
the leadership of Detroit’s
Jewish community, spoke
to the Economic Club of
Detroit, participated in a
state legislators’ reception
and met with the executive
leadership of Ford Motor
Company.
As a follow-up to the
ambassador’s visit, in May
2019, Ford’s Executive
Chairman Bill Ford
announced the company
would launch the Ford
Research Center in southern
Tel Aviv, in order to drive
the next generation of
automotive innovation in the
heart of the Start Up Nation.
And on a lighter note,
in February of 2019, the
Consulate brought the
world-renowned Israeli
Philharmonic Orchestra
to Ann Arbor for a special
one-night concert. There is
nothing more spectacular
than a room full of 800
people from Michigan
listening to “Hatikvah.” I will
never forget it.
ISRAELI CONTRIBUTIONS
One of the main goals
during my time as Consul
General was to change
the narrative around the
U.S.-Israel relationship.
Traditionally, Israel has been
on the receiving side of our
greatest ally, the United
States. However, I believe the
tiny and young state of Israel
has a lot to offer, especially
in the field of innovation,
social innovation and tikkun
olam. That is why we are
currently in the process of
implementing the model of
NATAL to Detroit.
NATAL is an Israeli
organization specializing in
the field of war and terror-
related trauma, PTSD and
resiliency-building among
civil society. NATAL can
bring Israeli knowledge and
experience in these fields
to tackle challenges facing
Detroit communities. We
know that with the aid of the
generous and kind Detroit
community, this initiative
will be effective and end
up helping many with their
mental health.
As I begin the end of my
stay here in the Midwest,
I want to thank the Jewish
community as well as the
non-Jewish community of
Detroit, including political
and community leaders,
members of the press,
cultural representatives and
all others who have displayed
such a tremendous amount
of support and everlasting
friendship. Your efforts and
spirit are commendable and
will always be treasured. I
know that the best is yet to
come.
Aviv Ezra is Consul General of Israel
to the Midwest.